1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical fiber connector and apparatus of facilitating to pull out optical fiber connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical fiber connectors are an essential part of substantially all optical fiber communication systems. For instance, such connectors are used to join segments of fiber into longer lengths, to connect fiber to active devices such as radiation sources, detectors and repeaters, and to connect fiber to passive devices such as switches and attenuators. The principal function of optical fiber connectors is to hold an optical fiber such that its core is axially aligned with the optical path of the device to which the connector is mating (herein “mating device”). This way, the light from one fiber is optically coupled to the optical path of the mating device.
A typical connector comprises a housing containing a ferrule which holds one or more fibers. The ferrule is biased forward in the housing such that, when the connector is mated to the mating device, the fiber in the ferrule urges against the optical path of the mating device. There are many different prior art connectors currently available for establishing such optical connections, including, for example, SC, ST and FC connectors and more-recent “small form factor” designs such as MTRJ, MU, LC, MPX and MPO-type connectors.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional LC type optical fiber connector 100 has a generally rectangular shape with a square cross section. The connector 100 includes a rectangular hollow housing 110 comprised of a top side-wall 111, a bottom side-wall 112, a right side-wall 113 and a left side-wall 114, wherein the right side-wall 113 faces the left side-wall 114 and connects with the bottom side-wall 112 and the top side-wall 111. A latch 120 is molded into the top side-wall 111 and includes a living hinge 125 which allows a tab 126 to be moved up and down in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the connector 100. The latch 120 includes a pair of protrusions 121 that are positioned on opposing sides of the tab 126. In addition, a ferrule 140 protrudes from a circular opening 116 on the front end of the housing 110. A spring is located inside the housing 110 to allow the ferrule 140 to move back and forth through the opening 116 (not shown in the figure). A pair of protrusions 160 is positioned on the right side-wall 113 and left side-wall 114, respectively. A rectangular opening 118 is formed on each of the right side-wall 113 and left side-wall 114. A boot 170 extends from a rear end of the housing 110.
Referring to FIG. 2, a conventional LC type optical fiber adapter 200, such as an LC duplex adapter includes a generally rectangular housing 210. The housing 210 has an axial cavity defined by a top side-wall 211, a bottom side-wall 212, a right side-wall 213 and a left side-wall 214. The axial cavity is divided into two halves by a compartment wall 215 that is parallel to the right side-wall 213 and left side-wall 214 and connects with the top side-wall 211 and bottom side-wall 212. The half of the axial cavity defined by the top side-wall 211, bottom side-wall 212, compartment wall 215 and right side-wall 213 is named as the right axial cavity and the other half of the axial cavity defined by the top side-wall 211, bottom side-wall 212, compartment wall 215 and left side-wall 214 is named as the left axial cavity. Each of the right and left axial cavities has an opening 208. A pair of indentations 220 mating with the protrusions 160 on the connector 100 is arranged in the left axial cavity on the left side-wall 214 and compartment wall 215, respectively. Similarly, the indentations 220 are also arranged in the right axial cavity on the right side-wall 213 and compartment wall 215, respectively. When the connector 100 of FIG. 1 is fully inserted into the adapter 200 through either of the openings 208, the protrusions 160 on the connector 100 will be placed in the indentations 220. Two hollow cylinders 240 are axially positioned in the right and left axial cavities respectively to receive the ferrule 140 of the connector 100. In addition, the adapter 200 further includes reciprocal locking mechanisms 230 which, referring to FIG. 1, mate with the latch 120, thereby securely interlocking the connector 100 with the adapter 200 when the connector 100 is completely inserted into the adapter 200. Afterward, a press on the tab 126 is necessary in order to pull the connector 100 out from the adapter 200.
However, when many the connector 100 are mounted on a panel with close spacing to each other, it is likely that there is no enough space for a user's fingers to press the tab 126 of the latch 120 and then pull out the connector 100.
Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a solution to solve the aforesaid problems.